Cambridge United v Oldham Athletic FA Cup 3rd Round 1973/74

 

50p for a programme in 1974? The answer is Yes, and also it's No.

This issue of Cambridge United's 'Black & Amber' was 40p more than the regular 10p price tag. That's because the purchase of this special 'Official Match Magazine' doubled up as the cost of admission into the Abbey Stadium for the FA Cup 3rd Round tie versus Oldham Athletic on 6th January 1974. This match just happened to be the very first official fixture to be played on a Sunday as it kicked off at 11.30am, hours before several other cup ties set to be played on this historic Sunday fifty years ago. 

The reason was because of the energy crisis, fuel shortages and the Three Day Week. It was decided that it would be too costly to plug a football ground into the grid on a busy Saturday. So some fixtures were rearranged for the Sunday when there was likely to be a more guaranteed supply of electricity. The morning kick off also meant that costly floodlights certainly needn't be turned on.

So the trusty matchday programme was a way of getting round the strict Sunday Observance laws dating back to the 18th century that prohibited an admission charge to paying events on the Sabbath. Entry into the ground was the purchase of a programme, rather than buying a ticket or handing over cash at the door.

Hence that 50p overprint in thick black ink...

Front cover of this historic programme

There were also other price variations on the day to get through the turnstiles. Another version of the above programme was printed without the orange ink on the cover, and priced 30p, and this yellow Official Team Sheet cost 45p

This hastily produced team sheet has the updated line-ups for both teams 

The fixtures list inside the programme confirms that this Cup Tie was originally to be played on Saturday 5th January 1974 

The match itself ended in a 2-2 draw played in front of  8,479 spectators. The replay took place two days later on 8th January at Oldham's Boundary Park ground. As there was no time to write and publish a programme, only a team sheet was produced by the club. The game itself sounded like a classic cup tie, ending in a 3-3 draw watched by 10,250 fans. So that meant another replay...

Oldham Athletic v Cambridge United, 8/1/74

The second replay was scheduled for the following Monday, on 14th January 1974. A neutral venue was secured, so the two teams lined-up again at the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest. There was only an Official Team Sheet that was produced for this F A Cup 3rd Round 2nd Replay. The 1.30pm kick off meant that only 3,563 people showed up. So many fans couldn't get time off work, and of course it was a school day meaning only a few and the brave of the United and Athletic young fan base were prepared to bunk off and find their way to Nottingham. 

Forest did get to show off their then new logo on this very scarce 'programme'

No further replays were needed as Oldham Athletic eventually won the tie 2-1. In the end, what will be forever historically significant about this 3rd Round FA Cup tie is that two teams from the then Third Division unknowingly triggered a change in the way fans attend football matches. That Sunday 6th January 1974 is half a century ago. Nowadays, watching football on a Sunday is merely just a typical day in our spectating schedule. But next time you go to a match on a Sunday, think of what it must have been like turning up to a professional football match on the one day you could never have attended one before...